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Denver coroner: Man fell to death after eating marijuana cookies

Levy Thamba was a student at Northwest College in Powell, Wyo., who was also known as Levi Thamba Pongi. (Via Facebook)

A college student visiting Denver jumped to his death from a hotel balcony after eating marijuana-infused cookies, according to a coroner's report that marks the first time authorities have publicly linked a death to marijuana since legal sales of recreational cannabis began in Colorado.

Levy Thamba, a 19-year-old student at Northwest College in Powell, Wyo., died last month at a Holiday Inn in northeast Denver. On Wednesday, the Denver coroner released a report concluding that Thamba's death was caused by "multiple injuries due to a fall from height."

The coroner also listed "marijuana intoxication" from cannabis-infused cookies as a significant condition contributing to the death. The report classifies the death as an accident.

A brief summary of the investigation that was included in the autopsy report says Thamba, also known as Levi Thamba Pongi, traveled to Denver with three friends on spring break. On March 11, the report says, Thamba consumed "marijuana cookies" and "soon thereafter exhibited hostile behavior (pulling items off the walls) and spoke erratically."

"The decedent's friends attempted to calm him down and were temporarily successful," the report states.

"However, the decedent eventually reportedly jumped out of bed, went outside the hotel room, and jumped over the balcony railing."

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Thamba and his friends were staying on the hotel's fourth floor, according to the report.

Michelle Weiss-Samaras, a spokeswoman for the coroner's office, said the office often lists alcohol intoxication as a significant contributing factor in a death — for instance, in an alcohol-related car accident. She said the office also has seen cases involving apparent marijuana-impaired driving, but she said she believes this is the first time it has listed marijuana intoxication from an edible product in such a way.

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Weiss-Samaras said Thamba had no known physical or mental-health issues, and toxicology tests for other drugs or alcohol came back negative.

"We have no history of any other issues until he eats a marijuana cookie and becomes erratic and this happens," she said. "It's the one thing we have that's significant."

According to the autopsy report, Thamba's marijuana concentration in his blood was 7.2 nanograms of active THC per milliliter of blood. In impaired driving cases, state law sets a standard of 5 nanograms per milliliter at which juries can presume impairment.

In January, Colorado became the first state in the country to allow people 21 and over to legally buy marijuana for any purpose from regulated stores. Weiss-Samaras said investigators believe a friend of Thamba's purchased the cookies in a recreational marijuana store.

"We were told they came here to try it," she said.

Julie Postlethwait, a spokeswoman with the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, which regulates marijuana stores, confirmed that the agency was cooperating with police in the investigation. But she said she couldn't provide more information because the investigation was ongoing.

Denver police have not yet finished the investigation, so they have not released more details and reports about the case.

It remains unclear how much of the marijuana-infused product Thamba consumed or how long after consuming it that he died.

Marijuana edibles — which account for 20 to 40 percent of overall sales, industry experts estimate — have been controversial in Colorado, and the legislature will likely take up the issue again this session. Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, said he and Rep. Jonathan Singer, D-Longmont, plan to introduce a bill as early as this week that would further cap the potency of edibles and prohibit them from being made in forms that might appeal to children.

Current Colorado law prohibits edible products sold at recreational marijuana stores from containing more than 10 milligrams of THC, the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana, per serving. The law allows one individually packaged product — for instance, a single marijuana-infused brownie — to contain up to 10 servings, or 100 milligrams of THC.

"We can try to make sure there's some level of equivalency and there's some limit on how potent these things are," McNulty said.

Thamba, who was from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, started taking classes at Northwest College in January. Thamba was studying engineering at the college, which has about 2,000 students and is 75 miles east of Yellowstone National Park.

During his few months at the college, Thamba made many friends, and his death was felt across the campus, school officials said.

"The Northwest College campus community continues to grieve after Levy's death," said a school statement released Wednesday. "All of us were deeply saddened by this tragic incident and feel for his family."

John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/john_ingold

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